Saturday, December 23, 2017

It's been a miserable Christmas Eve eve here in Connecticut as we have been dealing with an ice storm all day, BUT, we are promised a white Christmas, so I suppose there's a plus side to things!

After months of having this little wooden sled in my possession, I finally decided to mount one of my favorite winter-themed stitches to the front. Since the pattern is non-Christmas-specific, I changed up a few of the colors to the pattern to make it a little brighter and I just love it. So happy with the way it came out!

The sled was a local thrift shop find that I wish I was able to get a dozen or so more of because it's sooo cute! The one thing I noticed it was missing though was some rope at the top, so I added a little it of twine to finish it off. Then I mounted the stitched piece to some of my favorite wintry fabric and added some snow-covered branches and a snowflake embellishment. I really struggled with letting this one go, but it ended up shipping off to one of my favorite customers, so that made it much easier. That being said, the next time I find a small sled like this, I'm definitely keeping it!

Monday, December 18, 2017

Loving these adorable chalk patterns from Hands on Design. I have the whole set and I'm slowly but surely making my way through them!

For this particular pattern, "Believe," I decided to mount it to an actual chalkboard easel. I didn't use any coordinating fabric or trim but I did add a bow and cover button and some layered ric rac. Pretty easy finish, but super cute!

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

After spending a good portion of Saturday dyeing some fabric and kitting up projects, I was happy to sit down and finish this simple pattern I found in the 2017 Just Cross Stitch Christmas edition magazine. The fabric itself is like a gray/blue that I was originally afraid wouldn't show up well against the white -- but it's fine. My mom and I went fabric hunting (among other things) on Black Friday so I was able to get some really good deals on fabrics, including the one I used to mat this stitched piece on.

The piece itself is a while-washed wood pallet that hangs from a twine cord. It looked very bare on its own so I just added a snow-covered branch and a small glittery snowflake and called it a day! I love it!

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Christmas is definitely in full gear this week! I feel bad that I neglected fall decor items so quickly, but Christmas really snuck up on me this year. I think it has something to do with the timing of Thanksgiving probably, but I'm not complaining. I love finishing things this time of year!

I stitched up this Gingerbread Cottage piece with a totally different idea on how to FFO it. Then when I realized it was a bit too large to fit in the place I needed it to, I decided to make it a basket front. Little disappointing but cute nonetheless. I'm "okay" with how it turned out.

Then I finished two more decorative holiday boxes. These boxes are pretty much my favorite way to finish things because the boxes themselves are so pretty! They're really cute for gift-giving, cookie boxes, and just laying around the house as home decor pieces. I really try to match the colors to the box before finishing them, and then its just a matter of finding coordinating fabric to tie it all together. I lucked out with both of these.

I have a few more of these I really want to get done this week, so back to the finishing table!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Since the weather in Connecticut can't seem to make up its mind and I've been fighting a headache literally every day this week, I decided to give my eyes a break from holiday stitching and spend a few hours making these really cute holiday mini note card sets.

I'm a paper-holic so I always love making these. I swear each pattern is prettier than the next. I just love them all. These note card sets are great to have around the house, especially during this time of year when I need to grab a small card to add to a gift, or to send back as part of a thank you. I use them often!

Monday, November 13, 2017

This weekend was 31 degrees... and windy! After a day of shopping, I actually had to pull out a heating pad. What the heck happened to fall?! UGH!!!! I'm not ready for snow -- or cold --- or winter in general. As I get closer and closer to the move to Phoenix, the less I'm able to truthfully say I'm going to miss all four seasons. There is definitely one I can do without, and we're heading there fast! Not looking forward to it.

That being said, I did actually enjoy making this piece. In fact, it's one of my favorite FFOs of the season so far. I had dyed the fabric a baby blue/gray so that the white of the snow would pop. Then I subbed out some colors to compliment the dyed piece. For the finish, I framed it in a rustic antique white frame that I jazzed up with some snow-covered pine tree branches and a burlap bow. The fabric I used to make the center cover button seemed to harsh after I had already glued it to the piece, so I softened it with a lace button. Super cute and easy to make!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

I finished stitching this "Merry Merry" sampler from Country Cottage Needleworks the other day and originally planned to fully finish it into a basic ornament before remembering I had this adorable little wood pallet sign in my stash that would work.

I added some coordinating fabric matting behind the mounted stitched piece, but it seemed way too plain, so I pulled out some extra Christmas tree branch remnants I had laying around, and glued them on top to compliment out some of the branches in the pattern itself.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

I love stitching these little cottages, especially the Christmas-themed ones. I finished stitching this holiday cottage up the other day and decided I hadn't made a holiday basket in awhile and that this would be a perfect piece for one. All it needed was a little contrast to make it stand out, so I grabbed some coordinating fabric I had in my stash to make the mat behind the stitched piece.

I had this basket in my stash for quite a while. I don't remember where I found it, but I really liked the handles on it. They're very unique. The basket was the perfect size for this finish so I simply mounted the stitched piece and the matted fabric to the front and moved it right off my finishing table!

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

I've been commissioned to finish a ton of unique Christmas finishes lately, and thankfully, I've been on a roll. This cute little decorative cutting board was the perfect size for my "Merry" finish. I simply matted the stitched up piece with coordinating fabric before mounting both to the board. Then I just added a small bow with a small cover button. The board is about 4 inches by 8 inches -- the perfect size for hanging from a door or cabinet knob. So cute!

Friday, October 27, 2017

First Christmas decorative box of the season! I just love making these decorative boxes because there are so many varieties and combinations. I tend to use mine for gifts (so I don't have to gift-wrap) and cookie boxes, but I'm sure they look cute around the house as standalone decorations, too.

The "Noel" design is from one of the Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings collections. The designs included in those sets are all really cute and quick(er) to stitch.

I was lucky to have just enough remnant of this Christmas fabric to make the base for the stitched piece. The colors match PERFECTLY. Then I just mounted the stitched piece to the stop (with some batting to make it a little puffier) and added some fancy trim. I just love it!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Not sure how true this statement is, but at least the finish came out cute! I get sick of finishing ornaments sometimes, so I'm always looking for new ways to finish up these little holiday decoration pieces. I've had this metal easel-back (and about a dozen others!) in my stash for the longest time. I'm glad I finally got to use one!

I have a couple other patterns I'm looking to finish up in a similar way, but maybe just changing up the colors. I'll see how far I get ---- or if I change my mind and have them sit in my stash for another 9 months!

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